n. & adj.
--n.
1. Bot. any of various plants, esp. a herbaceous plant used wholly or partly for food, e.g. a cabbage, potato, turnip, or bean.
2 colloq. a a person who is incapable of normal intellectual activity, esp. through brain injury etc. b a person lacking in animation or living a monotonous life.
--adj.
1. of, derived from, relating to, or comprising plants or plant life, esp. as distinct from animal life or mineral substances.
2 of or relating to vegetables as food.
3 a unresponsive to stimulus (vegetable behaviour). b uneventful, monotonous (a vegetable existence).
Phrases and idioms:
vegetable butter a vegetable fat with the consistency of butter. vegetable ivory see IVORY. vegetable marrow see MARROW 1. vegetable oyster SALSIFY. vegetable parchment see PARCHMENT 2. vegetable spaghetti
1. a variety of marrow with flesh resembling spaghetti.
2 its flesh. vegetable sponge LOOFAH. vegetable tallow see TALLOW. vegetable wax an exudation of certain plants such as sumac.
Etymology: ME f. OF vegetable or LL vegetabilis animating (as VEGETATE)